Race for the Future Heads to Nashville

After a successful first year in Chicago, Illinois, this year’s Race for the Future 2.0 will be held Sunday, July 26 during the Music City Triathlon in Nashville, Tennessee. Organizers plan to raise at least 25% more in donations this year. Inside Dental Technology was a sponsor last year and continues to be this year as well.

“We expect to raise more than $45,000 this year, and that is a conservative estimate,” says Bennett Napier, CAE, Chief Staff Executive for the National Association of Dental Laboratories. “I don’t think anybody had any expectation that it would generate this kind of money, and it has transformed the ability of the foundation to meet its mission.”

Last year’s event was held in conjunction with the ITU World Triathlon Chicago. Race for the Future participants competed in the triathlon—which featured swimming, biking, and running—and raised money through pledges. The money is used to help the foundation’s mission of supporting education in dental technology.

Napier says an unexpected byproduct of the event was the camaraderie generated among the participants, so when organizers were considering locations for this year, they sought a place with social opportunities similar to Chicago’s.

“Nashville offers a unique flavor,” Napier says. “When we are not racing, we can hang out together and build a family-type relationship with people you usually see only in a more formal environment.”

People who cannot make the trip to Nashville can participate, too, by entering other races on behalf of the foundation. Napier says those people’s names will be listed on the foundation’s website, where their friends and family can visit to make donations.

With support of generous sponsors—the full list can be found at dentallabfoundation.org—the plan is to continue the event annually.

“It’s getting some momentum, so we want to harness that,” Napier says.

MIST Inc., a leading provider of advanced CAD/CAM implant prosthetic technology, is now a distributor of the imes-icore CORiTEC 450i and 650i industrial mills. Both include exclusive CAM software strategies developed by IMILLING, a milling center specializing in implant prosthetics.

Both are fully open, 5-axis machines. The CORiTEC 450i, a robust, entry-level desktop dry mill with wet milling upgrade for processing titanium custom abutments, becomes fully automatic with an optional automated 20 blank/disc changer. The CORiTEC 650i is a highly precise, premium wet/dry industrial mill with 5-axis simultaneous machining, HSK 25-spindle (62,000 rpm, 2.1 kW), 32-position fully automatic tool changer, direct drives for exceptional accuracy, and touchscreen controls.

3D Systems’ 3DS Healthcare solutions, 3M ESPE’s 3M True Definition Scanner, and Carestream Dental’s CS 3500 intraoral scanner earned the gold, silver, and bronze medals, respectively, in the Dental 3D Printers & Services category at the 2015 Edison Awards in New York. The awards honor excellence in new product and service development, marketing, human-centered design, and innovation.

3D Systems was recognized for its end-to-end digital healthcare solutions, including 3D surgical simulation and training, virtual surgical planning, dental 3D printers, and delivery of 3D-printed procedures, implants, and patient-specific devices. These solutions allow medical professionals to utilize a complete digital thread—a seamless ecosystem connecting specific patient imaging data to virtual simulation, virtual planning and surgical guides, and personalized 3D-printed models.

The 3M True Definition Scanner was recognized by judges for its marriage of cutting-edge 3D imaging, advanced optics, and data analysis algorithms, and its potential to revolutionize the patient’s experience at the dentist’s office.

Shortly after the awards, 3M ESPE announced that 3M Margin Marking Software is now fully integrated with CAD/CAM design platforms 3Shape Dental System™, exocad® DentalCAD, and Dental Wings. Using the new Trusted Connections, 3M True Definition Scanner digital impression files are easily converted and imported into those software programs.

The CS 3500 allows practitioners to easily acquire true-color and 2D and 3D images.

S-Ray Incorporated held events to update the shareholders on the company’s progress toward the commercialization of its first dental imaging product, the ClearView LAB scanner.

The events were open only to shareholders, but an S-Ray press release said the company is at an “important juncture” and is poised to either go public, sell to a major company, or possibly partner with a private equity firm.

“This year represents a pivotal time in the evolution of S-Ray as we work to commercialize our first 3D imaging product based on our patented ultrasound technology, the ClearView LAB scanner,” CEO Steve Baird says.

Reaching the Core of Ethics and Transparency

BEGO held a celebration March 17 at its Bremen, Germany headquarters to mark the 90th birthday of senior partner and dental specialist Joachim Weiss.

Carestream Dental appointed Lisa Ashby as President. Ashby previously was President, Medical Devices and Diagnostics, at Cardinal Health.

The Aurum Group of Companies announced that Rune Fisker, Vice President Strategy and Business Unit Director, Dental Lab and Dental Clinic for 3Shape, will speak at the Dental Technology and Business Growth Summit 2015, which will be October 1-3 in Banff, Alberta.

DAL DT Technologies said the FDA has granted the cubeX2 cubic zirconia material 510k compliance and the product is now commercially available.

Kim Solomon has been hired as Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Keating Dental Arts. Prior to joining Keating, Solomon was the Director of Digital Dentistry & Regenerative Solutions at Nobel Biocare for 5 years.

While most laboratories conduct business ethically, too many have heard from dentists who say they are being offered a restoration for a price that makes it clear that the restoration is not made of the claimed quality materials or was not made at the claimed point of origin. Consequently, quality laboratories that practice transparency may lose business due to unfair competition. This is why National Association of Dental Laboratories (NADL) core values are essential for the industry:

• Transparency in Dentistry: We believe the dentist and patient have the right to know about patient contact materials and points of origin for the restorations.
• Minimum Standards of Operation: We strongly support certification for both the individual and laboratory as well as formal education for dental technology professionals.
• Choice in Business Models: We do not and cannot tell someone how to operate his or her laboratory. We don’t prescribe to a certain business model, and we support and respect an owner’s right to make an informed decision.
• Camaraderie: We believe strongly in peer-to-peer learning and sharing best practices and experiences.
• Passion: We love our profession and will work tirelessly to ensure that dental laboratory professionals remain respected members of the oral healthcare team.

When dental laboratories are required to register with the state boards of dentistry, any bad actors would be at risk for losing registration and with it the ability to perform dental laboratory work for any dentist in the entire state. The resulting increased accountability and compliance will help ensure that dentists receive the information they need to continue providing the highest standard of care and safety for their patients.

Become involved with NADL at nadl.org.

Professor Francois Duret, who is a French dentist, an inventor, and the father of 3D CAD/CAM, has been received into the French Legion of Honor in the rank of Knight.

Established May 19, 1802 by Napoleon Bonaparte, the French National Order of the Legion of Honor rewards individuals who have exhibited “Outstanding Merit” rendered to the French nation. Duret is the holder of 50 inventions and patents in the area of 3D oral care CAD/CAM, as well as composite material, polymerization, tooth whitening, and endodontic root posts.

Duret’s technical innovations are the result of 40 years of research, development, and passion for dentistry and have revolutionized the oral healthcare profession.